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Thursday, 1 August 2013

Book: Naughty Cinderella by Adrianna White

You think you know the classic tale of Cinderella? Think again, the beautiful daughter of a commoner, she is abandoned by her father and left to live with her step-mother, Mable, and her step-sisters, Dorothy and Mary. Mable forces Cinderella to be a prostitute and takes all the earnings to keep for herself and her daughters. When Cinderella finally decides she's had enough, and slits her wrist over the bathtub, she accidentally summons her fairygodmother and is whisked off to the ball in a gown of scarlet.

Marketed as an erotic fairytale, though there are explicit sex scenes in it (so this is only suitable for 18+ really), I wouldn't tag this book under erotica, there wasn't enough of it. Plus (in my opinion at least) it wasn't of a high enough caliber to be classed as erotica, these sex scenes didn't really feel like they were real, it felt like make believe (if that makes sense!) I know I am normally not one to post about books with explicit sex scenes (though I did read 50 Shades of Grey, though I am somewhat ashamed to admit that, it being twilight fan fiction and all!) but I do enjoy them if they are part of the story.

After going through the disenchantment every child goes through when they realise that real fairytales are nothing like their disney cartoons, I can say that I thought that the role of Cinderella as a prostitute was very believable, it is, after all, widely accepted that her step-sisters and step-mother wish to degrade her. In reality this was actually a very minor part of the 50-odd page novella anyway, which again made me wonder about the marketing as an erotic fairytale.

The fairygodmother and the magic also took on a darker and more sinister tone. Cinderella accidentally summons her fairygodmother through blood magic, revealing her to be a blood mage, and the horse and carriage are materialised from Cinderella's blood. I thought that it was interesting how this then translated itself into Cinderella's outfit for the ball being red, as opposed to the more 'traditional' blue or white that she is given, making her seem far more dark, mysterious and ultimately dangerous. I also found it interesting that in her entrance to the ballroom I pictured all the other characters in pale colours, making her stand out more (though a lack of actual description does make me wonder where on earth that idea came from!)

You will see all the typical characters from Cinderella in Naughty Cinderella, you have the fairygodmother who wants to help Cinderella, you have the jealous and spoilt step-sisters, the vindictive step-mother, the handsome Prince, and even Buttons gets a mention, though he is cast as a regular patron of Cinderella's called Henry, who also wants what is best for her.

Due to the length there isn't a lot of character development, however for a different, and yet somewhat traditional telling of Cinderella, and as a quick and not very challenging read, then Naughty Cinderella is a good one to read.